2020 NFL Draft: UCLA RB Joshua Kelley accepts Senior Bowl invitation

After a late scratch from Zack Moss, UCLA running back Joshua Kelley will head to the Senior Bowl in order to improve his standing in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Former UCLA running back Joshua Kelley has accepted his invitation to the Senior Bowl after a standout season leading the rebuilding Bruins that stayed in the Pac-12 South race until November. He joins such tailback luminaries as Arizona State’s Eno Benjamin, Florida’s Lamical Perine, Memphis’ Antonio Gibson, and Vanderbilt’s Ke’Shawn Vaughn in this year’s rendition as they all prepare for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Kelly produced 229 carries and 1,060 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns for a healthy 4.6 yards per carry despite opposing defenses keying on him as the primary weapon for UCLA in 2019. He was more productive last season as he posted a 225 carries for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns effort trying to keep defenders from focusing on QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson too much. He has been well schooled in the finer points of the running game in Chip Kelly’s system.

For his Bruins career, he ended up with 2,303 yards on 454 attempts and 24 touchdowns. Quite a remarkable two year run by any measure, especially for a rebuilding program like UCLA.

Kelley has that in-between the tackles type of skillset and mentality with some flexibility to bounce runs to the perimeter. Lateral agility is a plus with him as he has great footwork to fool defenders that underestimate his athleticism.

Can Joshua Kelley standout in a loaded running back class and make a name for himself like previous Bruins before him?